Attachment - Explanations Of Attachment Flashcards
What are the two explanations of attachment?
-learning theory
-Bowlby’s monotropic theory
What type of explanation is the learning theory?
Behavioural
What does the learning theory suggest?
-infants learn to attach to whoever feeds them
What are the two theories within the learning theory?
Classical and operant conditioning
Describe classical conditioning
-learning behaviour through association of stimulus and response
Describe operant conditioning
-learning to attach through rewards, reinforcements (positive and negative) and punishments
What type of theory is Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
Evolutionary
What does Bowlby’s monotropic theory suggest?
-attachment is innate, we are born with the ability to attach (social releasers)
What does the learning theory suggest, emphasise and what is it known as?
-suggests infants learn to attach to whoever feeds them
-emphasises the importance of food in the formation of an attachment
-also known as the ‘cupboard love’ theory
Describe the process of before conditioning in classical conditioning
-food/milk is an unconditioned stimulus (infant naturally needs to survive), which provides a unconditioned response (pleasure)
What is an unconditioned stimulus?
A stimulus (thing from the environment) that isn’t learnt
What is an unconditioned response?
-a response that is automatic and doesn’t need to be learnt
Draw the process of before conditioning
Describe the process of during conditioning in classical conditioning
The neutral stimulus (feeder), through repetition if feeding learns to associate the feeder with food and pleasure
What is a neutral stimulus?
A stimulus which feels nothing at first
Draw out the process of before conditioning
Describe the process of after conditioning
-the feeder becomes a conditioned stimulus which will produce a conditioned response of pleasure
Draw out the process of after conditioning in classical conditioning
What is the unconditioned stimulus in attachment? (Before/during conditioning)
Food
What is the unconditioned response in attachment? (Before/during conditioning)
Pleasure
What is the neutral stimulus in attachment? (During conditioning)
feeder
What is the conditioned stimulus in attachment? (After conditioning)
feeder
What is the conditioned response in attachment (after conditioning)
Pleasure
Draw out the process of classical conditioning
What is operant conditioning?
Learning behaviour through rewards, reinforcements and punishments
What is a positive reinforcement?
If we are rewarded for a behaviour, the behaviour will be repeated to gain the same reward
What is a negative reinforcement?
If doing a behaviour avoids a negative consequence, the behaviour will be repeated to avoid the negative consequence again
What is a punishment?
If we are punished for a behaviour, the behaviour will stop
What can operant conditioning explain?
-operant conditioning can be used to explain why infants cry for comfort
Describe a positive reinforcement in operant conditioning
when an infant is hungry and cries, this leads to a response from the caregiver (feeding), this is positive reinforcement as the infant receives the reward of food so the crying behaviour is reinforced
Describe a negative reinforcement in operant conditioning
when the caregiver feeds the infant, the crying stops so this is negative reinforcement as the negative consequence of crying has been removed and the feeding behaviour is reinforced
What does mutual reinforcment do in operant conditioning?
-mutual reinforcement strengthens an attachment
Evaluate the learning theory of attachment
-environmental reductionism
-RTC- Harlow, monkeys preferred comfort (cloth mother)
-HOWEVER HARLOW HAS ANIMAL BIAS
-RTC- Schaffer and Emmerson, infants attached to mother regardless of whether she normally fed them
Explain how the learning theory can be criticised for environmental reductionism
-environmental reductionism
-theory reduces complex behaviour of attachment to simple basic units (learning to attach through stimulus, reponse and association)
-this neglects a holistic approach which would take into account social and culture context and how they may influence attachment e.g in colllectivist cultures, infants may form multiple attachments, not just with who feeds them
Explain how Harlow’s research contradicts the learning theory and give a counterarguement
-Harlow found moneys spent more time with the cloth mother (comfort) than the wire mother (milk)
-contradicts learning theory which suggests we learn to attach to whoever feeds us
-limits validity
Counterarguement-
-Harlow-animal bias
-difficult to extrapolate to humans
-humans are more complex and sophisticated than animals
-criticises the learning theory
Explain Schaffer and Emmerson’s research to contradict the learning theory of attachment from studies on humans
-infants attached to mother 65% of the time, regardless of whether she fed them
-attachment was more due to interacting with infants and responding to their signals
-contradicts LT as attachment goes beyond just feeding an infant
-limits the validity
How many different elements are in bowlbys monotropic theory?
5
What are the elements in bowlbys theory?
-adaptive
-social releasers
-critical (sensitive) period
-monotropy
-internal working model
What is the acronym for bowlbys monotropic theory?
ASCMI
Describe adaptive in Bowlby’s monotropic theory
-attachment is an innate system
-it is inherited to improve survival and therefore is adaptive
-he suggested infants and parents are born ‘programmed’ to attach
Describe social releasers within Bowlby’s monotropic theory
-infants are born with social releasers such as crying and looking cute (button nose, big eyes)
-thus triggers a response in a caregiver and ensures interaction takes place to form an attachment
Describe the critical (sensitive period) within Bowlby’s monotropic theory
-bowlby proposed a critical period for attachment in an infant to take place (this is a biological period)
-if an attachment does not take place during the critical period then it may not take place at all
Describe monotropy within Bowlby’s monotropic theory
-places great emphasis on a child’s attachment to one caregiver
-he believes this is the most important attachment in an infants development
-he called this the ‘mother’ but said it doesn’t need to be the biological mother, but needs to be a female caregiver
Describe the internal working model within Bowlby’s monotropic theory
-it is a schema that’s child forms of their relationship with their primary caregiver
-this serves as a model/template for what future relationships are like
-a child uses this to build expectations of future relationships
-it has a powerful impact on the child’s future relationships (romantic, friendships and offspring)
-bowlby suggests the IWM is passed on from one generation to the next so people base their parenting on their own experiences of being parented
Draw an example of a positive internal working model
Draw an example of a negative internal working model
What were Bowlby’s 2 principles? (TOP BAND ESSAY)
-law of continuity
-law of accumulated separation
What is the law of continuity within Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
-the quality of a child’s attachment will be better if they receive consistent and predictable care
What is the law of accumulated separation within Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
-having substantial time apart from the monotropy risks a poor quality attachment
Evaluate Bowlby’s monotropic theory
-Lorenz- found a critical period like bowlby
-Hazan & Shaver- support the IWM
-However, may be limited as it’s a questionnaire so may lie
-RTC- Schaffer & Emmerson- found multiple attachments unlike monotropy suggests
-However, S&E found specific attachments before multiple attachments
-not the only explanation- learning theory is an alternative explanation
How may Lorenz support Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
-Lorenz found a critical period of 12-17 hours in Goslings in which imprinting had to take place otherwise it would not take place at all
-suggests infants must attach within the critical period otherwise it would be difficult to form attachments later
-increases validity
Give a counterarguement for Lorenz’s research supporting Bowlby’s monotropic theory
-animal bias
-conducted on geese and humans are more emotionally complex
-the concept of a critical period may be more complex and may not represent behaviour in humans
How did Hazan & Shaver support Bowlby’s monotropic theory?
-created a love quiz (1987)
-securely attached children had happy and long lasting relationships I’m later life whereas insecurely attached children found it hard to form relationships and many were divorced
-supports IWM as early infant attachments acted as a template for future relationships
-increases the validity
Give a counterarguement for Hazan and Shavers research to support Bowlby’s monotropic theory
-may be prone to social desirability bias
-was a questionnaire so ppts may lie to present themselves in the best possible light
-reduces the internal validity
Describe how Schaffer & Emmersons research contradicted Bowlby’s monotropic theory
-found evidence for multiple attachments
-found multiple attachments may help children develop socially, emotionally and cognitively
-this contradicts monotropy and the idea of one attachment
-lowers the validity
Give a counterarguement of Schaffer & Emmerson’s research to contradict Bowlby’s monotropic theory
-found that before making multiple attachments, children will form a specific attachment
-65% of the time it was with the mother
-supports Bowlby’s idea of monotropy
Give a weakness of Bowlby’s monotropic theory
-not the sole explanation
-alternative explanation is the learning theory
-learning theory proposes that we learn to attach to a feeder via stimulus, reponse and associations rather than attachment being innate as it gives us a survival advantage due to triggering a survival instinct in adults
-lacks validity as it isn’t a full explanation
